Fast Forward

Life with a toddler and a baby.

Makes me smile, laugh, and want to pull my hair out all at the exact same time. 

Each day is an adventure that is for sure. The past few weeks have just flown by and I'm sure the next 20 years will do the same. Sad. But for now we try to enjoy each and every moment with our sweet little blessings. 

So here's what has been going on in fast forward mode...

Emmett took the mouse to our computer awhile back and we couldn't find it anywhere.. for days. Until Nate tried to print something and found it jammed in the printer. Makes you just laugh. 

I'm pretty sure for the last entire month someone in our household has been sick. And now as I type this both babies have bad coughs and runny noses. I guess I should just prepare for sickie mc-sick babies for the next few months. Not fun. 

But aren't they so cute?! They sure love each other and are seriously looking more and more like each other everyday. 

Kamryn girl is now one happy baby. She is constantly smiling. (And mostly at Emmett).

She is now almost 6 months old. That's half a year. Where in the world has the time gone? What have I been doing? She now thinks she can sit up by herself. I'm not sure if I like this growing up so fast thing. 

And Emmett. Oh my goodness. Sometimes we wonder if he has Pediatric Bipolar Disorder. He is one crazy dude. 

Church is so hard these days and now I understand it when parents say they can't wait until Nursery. We may not make it until then. There was one Sunday where we barely made it through Sacrament and I told Nate, "We are leaving." I ended up taking the babies home so they could nap and be happier and feel better since they were both getting sick...again. The minute we walked through the door, Emmett tripped and fell and ended up getting this huge goose egg on his head. I watched it get bigger and bigger within seconds and I thought, "What if it explodes? Does that really happen?" But it didn't thank goodness and it went back down. He ended up getting a big bruise for awhile and I know it's because we left church early. 

Emmett is a character and getting anything done these days is at times a challenge to say the least. He is starting to climb on anything, open everything, destroy most things, etc, etc, etc. 

 I find him in lots of awkward positions and he usually doesn't mind it one bit. 

 And anything in a long cord form is considered a necklace which he has to put on. 

It is so fun watching our two babies interact more and more with one another.  There are so many things I am looking forward to but for now, I just need to enjoy where we are at. One moment at a time. 

"Extra" Ordinary Day

We got the best surprise the other day. I was feeding Emmett breakfast and thinking of my "To Do" list which included cleaning the house and doing a few loads of laundry. Let's just say I wasn't too excited about the list. Then all of a sudden Nate walks in the door. Well more like he pranced through the door and said, "Let's go to West Yellowstone today! Hurry and get ready and let's get on our way." So that's exactly what I did. It was an awesome surprise. He just decided to take the day off after he donated plasma. (Well I don't know all the details since he wouldn't divulge them to me but I'm not complaining). He also had heard on the radio that Yellowstone was opened for free for a few days so he thought we should take advantage. 

 I got ready and we had the truck and kids packed and ready to go in under an hour. Amazing. 

The boys were excited to get on our way.

When we arrived in West Yellowstone and went to the gate, it was closed. We quickly looked on our phones and Nate realized he heard the dates wrong and we were one day early. Plus half the park was closed due to the snow anyways. We tried to figure out what to do in West Yellowstone but pretty much everything was closed.

So instead we fed both babies in the truck parked in the McDonald's parking lot. And Emmett had fun playing up front with Nate.

 And this is how Nate takes a picture of sis and I. He gives us no warning so hence my lack of eye contact and Kamryn's dazed look.

After we fed the babies and let them stretch their legs for a bit, we decided to go exploring. We drove up past Hebgen Lake. It was meant to be. We had a great time exploring and on our way we almost literally ran into four big horned sheep. Crazy. I seriously didn't even know these existed. 

Then we ventured onward toward Earthquake Lake which was created about 50 years ago by a huge landslide due to an earthquake.  

The views were amazing and we enjoyed every minute of it.

The babies were so good for 7+ hours in the truck. 

We saw a lot of this...

 And a lot of this...

 But next time we will make sure to change Emmett's diaper more than once. He drank abut a half a gallon of water (what else is a guy to do stuck in a car seat?) and he pretty much peed through everything. I couldn't even close his diaper up because it was soaked so much. Whoops. But the cute little guy didn't even complain, neither did sis. We sure have come a long way in just a few months. I think Nate can agree we are loving this stage of life right now!

Dressing Up

I honestly think my all time favorite part of Halloween is dressing up and seeing all the fun costume ideas out there. Even though I was a bit disappointed in the way mine and Nate's costumes turned out, Emmett and Kamryn were definitely the highlights of the night. So of course I have to post more pictures of them. (You'd  think they are the center of our lives or something....)

First off, I'm really not sure what's cuter than a big brother giving his little sis a kiss. Yep, right in the center of her face. He sure loves her. 

Our little teenie tiny Goldilocks girl. 

 Our cute little baby bear. He was destined to be a bear this year with his round cheeks and bright blue eyes. 

 This is a rare picture...they are both sitting together with no adult supervision. Very impressive babies.

And then it doesn't last too long. 

Since sis is so little, we had to put her in a doll stroller. She fit just right. Maybe we should have re-considered her Halloween costume and dressed her up as a cabbage patch doll...

 Waiting for the trick-or-treaters at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

 And last but not least...these were Nate's pants. Awesome purchase at D.I. His legs went numb as he drove the short distance to Rexburg. 

13...

..Days of Halloween Fun!

  That time of year that I absolutely love is quickly passing us by. But thanks to Nate and I's annual tradition, we try and make the most of the year and do an activity everyday for 13 days leading up to Halloween. Let's just say this year it kind of snuck up on us and there were days at about 9:00 pm at night that we realized we hadn't really done anything. So a lot of our activities turned into treats and food centered around this season. (I'm definitely not complaining). Thank goodness for neighbors  and family who helped us eat the glorious food and snacks so we didn't inhale it all ourselves. 

So in no particular order...here's what we did for our 13 days of fun...

#13 Trying a New Treat. Nate brought home candy corn flavored Starbursts. I must say, at first I was like, "sick" but then they really grow on you and before I knew it, I was eating about half the bag.

#12 Visiting a Haunted House. I have do do these kind of things by myself because I married a pansy when it comes to haunted and spooky places. (Sorry Nate, you know it's true). Thankfully Beth, Ash, Amanda and I got to participate in the local Dr. Slaughter's house. It was fabulous and I must say a good scare. They always do an awesome job. The best part was watching Ash fall on her face. Loved it!

#11 Making and Eating lots of Pumpkin Bars. My all time favorite fall treat complete with homemade cream cheese frosting. Yum. 

#10 Enjoying the Fall Leaves as a Family. Emmett loved the leaves. 

 He had no time for pictures. He wanted to explore everything.

 And little Kay Kay enjoyed everything while in the stroller. 

#9 Eating Pumpkin Dip. Again made out of cream cheese and dipping crisp apples grown from mom and dad's in them. Nothing is better. 

#8 Watching a Scary Movie. Well not really scary because of the hubby. So we watch a Halloween movie. "The Private Eyes" with Tim Conway and Don Knotts. Super corny but there are some good laughs.

#7 Eating some Good ol' Hubbard Squash Fresh from the Garden of Ma and Pa's. Yummy! It seriously tastes like candy. Maybe it's because I cook it with a lot of butter and brown sugar...I mean a lot!

#6 How can we Forget About the World Series. It's obviously a yearly Fall tradition in our house. The best night was the final game because we Skyped with Brady, Amber, Benson, and Owen throughout the whole game. So much fun. Complete with Nachos made at each establishment. But I must say I was more jealous of the Nachos being served in the other Esplin household.

#5 Carving Pumpkins. Well carving one pumpkin. We were tired so we picked the easy man's way of carving and just drilled a bunch of hole in it. But I thought it turned out pretty awesome. 

#4 Making and Eating a New Dessert. Caramel Apple Bars. They were pretty good but I probably won't make them again. There are better things out there.

#3 Telling Halloween Jokes. Okay so maybe we were lazy and ran out of ideas. This was one of those nights where I tell Nate, "Quick, think of something we can do for our 13 days."

#2 Enjoying Some Caramel Dip with Apples. I highly recommend the lava dip you can buy at Wal-Mart. Very delicious and it doesn't harden up. 

#1 Celebrating Halloween with our costumes! My favorite day! We decided to go with a family theme this year and dressed up as "Goldilocks and the Three Bears". Luckily Goldilocks and Baby Bear were the cutest. I don't know what happened to Mama and Papa bear. They look like a Hybrid Mouse/Dog. I guess that's what happens when you run out of time and then your toddler dumps prune juice all over the carpet when you are about to head out the door. It made for some good laughs though!

Silly Babies

These two babies of ours sure keep us entertained day in and day out. The best is watching Kamryn belly laugh pretty much over anything Emmett does. It gets him really excited and then once he calms down he usually comes over to give little sis a kiss. It might be my new favorite thing. 

This little girl just turned 4 months and has turned into such a happy and smiley baby. (For awhile there we were a little unsure what was going on with her). 

She is still so tiny and petite. In fact we have to take her back into the doctor in a couple of weeks to check her weight again. 

And did I mention that this little dude gets into everything?! Well he does. One of his new favorite things is crawling into sister's bouncer. He will play in there for a good 30 minutes. But I've had to put a stop to it because he is starting to stretch it out because of his chunk. 

 Church is a joke these days. I go and feel like I'm training for a triathlon or something and then when we are on our way home I think, "What just happened?" This last Sunday Emmett was a bit of a character. In fact while I was out in the hall during Sunday school trying to rock Kamryn to sleep and keeping an eye on Emmett at the same time, someone stopped me to chat and I looked behind me and saw Emmett running toward the chapel doors. I thought they were closed but decided to check just in case. Good thing I did because Emmett had run into the chapel and was climbing up the steps to the podium while another ward was enjoying their sacrament meeting. Let's just say I was a bit mortified and I'm sure the color of my face gave everything away. 

But in the next moment you forget it all because they can be just so darn cute!

Spur of the Moment

So awhile back I found out that Josh Groban was doing a tour and would be in Boise and Salt Lake in October. I thought that would be so much fun to go to but realized I would have a small baby that would probably require me to feed her. So I made the sacrifice (which really wasn't a big deal) and forgot about the whole ordeal. Fast forward to a week ago...

My dear friend Nicole ended up going to the Boise concert and fell in love with Josh and convinced me we should go to the Salt Lake concert since little Kay Kay has to be supplemented these days. I pretty much bought tickets that day and a week later we were making the drive down there. 

I ended up getting us some pretty awesome seats for only getting the tickets a week in advance. Probably thanks to someone re-selling theirs at a much cheaper price.

 Let's just say the concert was absolutely amazing!! He was fantastic live!  The sound and lights and all the effects were awesome.

He was really funny between songs too. We were enjoying every single moment and were very sad when it ended. 

So instead of going home right after the concert like normal people, Nicole convinced me we needed to wait outside by his bus and maybe we could get his autograph. (She ended up doing that in Boise and was now a pro at celebrity stalking).

So that's exactly what we did!  He ended up not being outside for very long so I didn't push my way through the crowd and get his autograph, but I did get to see him up close. It was pretty fun. 

But we did get to meet his violinist who was super nice and very down to earth. He was also absolutely amazing at the concert. Check out some of his stuff here. 

It was an awesome 12 hour trip that we didn't regret. I totally recommend going to one of his concerts! 

The Start of October

It's officially October (my absolute favorite time of the year). 

This also means Spud Harvest time. Emmett got to experience his first time on a Spud Farm and in a Spud Truck. Thanks to Trev for letting Nate and Emmett come along for a night.

 October also means that Nate wears his favorite color...Pink. Well maybe it's not his favorite but he supports Breast Cancer Awareness at work. He has only worn his awesome turtle neck once (which I'm pretty sure he got at the big and tall ladies store) because he came home sweating really bad. 

 What's October without baseball...and the Braves are playing in the Finals. Nate is just a bit excited. But those of you with Cable One know that TBS is not airing right now and it's created a bit of drama in our house. 

And since the weather is getting colder, the little babies have to dress a little warmer.

 Emmett is playing with the doggie door in the garage. I don't know what it is about little babies squatting down that is just so dang cute!

 And Kamryn sports a nice leopard print hoodie every once in awhile and likes to chill in her Bumbo. 

 In other news of our October, Kamryn is starting to be a little more cautious around her brother. Notice the hand creeping in this picture? Kamryn knows what's up and turns her head the other way. Very perceptive Kamryn, very perceptive. 

 And Emmett...you are still quite the character! He crawled in a basket of toys in Kamryn's room one day while I was giving her a bath. He stayed there for a good 20 minutes. 

 Bring on October! Can't wait for more hot chocolate, apple cider, pumpkin everything, crisp days, leaves, fall smells....I Love It!

Everyday Through the IPhone

It seems like whenever I want to take a picture, the moment passes by too quickly and all I have time for is to grab my phone. So hence the very poor quality of pictures. But I still love them. These babies sure make us laugh and smile everyday. 

We are starting to get more and more adventurous as a family of four. It can get quite comical at times. Today I took a picture of Emmett and Kamryn together for the very first time...alone..with no one holding them. It went well until Emmett bopped Kamryn in the head. And he also kept trying to sit on her. She is just the right height. 

But then there are moments when Emmett just wants to kiss his little sis. 

 Emmett is so funny these days. This picture is before I gave him a very needed haircut (I'm pretty sure it's the 8th or 9th time I've given him one since he was born). He also had just gotten into some snacks and I hadn't noticed. 

 One of his favorite places to play is in the dog bed. It is seriously disgusting because he rolls around and lays in it. You just have to laugh about it though.

 And this little girl just turned 3 months. It blows my mind. But we are all very happy to be in this stage of life. Everyone is doing much better. She can be so serious at times, but mostly she is one happy and smiling baby. And she is still so skinny. She has a long way to catch up to her brother!